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A sweet and colourful accountant?

Steven Chase, September 10, 2008 at 1:06 PM EST

Conservative leader Stephen Harper, not known for being warm and fuzzy, is making a point of joking about it on the campaign trail.

It's part of an effort to humanize himself in voters' eyes before the October 14 ballot.

Today Mr. Harper told an Indo-Canadian audience in Greater Toronto that his family originally wanted him to be an accountant.

"But I didn't have the charisma to be an accountant," he joked.

  1. True North from Canada writes: And he delivered it well - very funny. (And true!)
  2. Another Opinion from Canada writes: Being married to an accountant, I can verify that he's right: he doesn't.
  3. Fungal Fred from Canada writes: Today Mr. Harper told an Indo-Canadian audience in Greater Toronto that his family originally wanted him to be an accountant.

    "But I didn't have the charisma to be an accountant," he joked.

    Gosh that's funny. Almost as funny as his joke about Michael Wilson's charisma when he announced him as Ambassador to the U.S.

    Does he have any other jokes? Oh yes, there was the one about not taxing income trusts, then watching people lose money when he broke his promise. That one was hilarious.
  4. t scot from Canada writes: Ya...Harper is good for a laugh anyday.
  5. active reader from toronto, Canada writes: Want to laugh more? (or cry)

    Go through this website....

    Its amazing how much Harpo has LIED in two years. Time to wake up folks...

    http://trustbreaker.freehostia.com
  6. S B from Toronto, Canada writes: hack
  7. C Dione from Canada writes: who cares about funny

    www.greenshift.ca
  8. Blue Magic ...... from Mississauga,, Canada writes: LMAO..

    Easy joke.
  9. reality man from Canada writes: You mean the great line about wishing he could be a "fruit"? Yeah, he got laughs for all the wrong reasons i.e. any hyper-conservative politician that can think on his feet would hardly announce that they are a fruit. There's nothing funny about Harper. He is the most authoritarian and un-democratic PM in Canadian history and this is despite only having a minority government, which has forced him to play "nice". If this guy gets a majority the Charter of Rights will go into hibernation with a daily dose of the notwithstanding clause. He has already indicated that he will re-open the same sex marriage issue (which has already been voted on TWICE by parliament) with a "free" vote. Hmmm, since 7 provincial supreme courts have all UNANIMOUSLY agreed that excluding same-sex couples from the definition of marriage violates their Charter rights then what relevance would a parliamentary vote, to revert to the old definition of marriage, have unless Harper is intending to override the Charter with the notwithstanding clause? This guy has claimed that judges should defer to parliament (showing a lack of basic understanding of the supremacy of the constitution over parliament and of all judges' duty to uphold the constitution). On the other hand, it is a fact that he has concentrated power in the PMO's office and placed it ever more at his own whim. So if judges must defer to Parliament but Parliament defers to Harper then Steve is intimating that he is the sole authority in the country. Now we see why our constitution makes Parliament subordinate to the constitution - to prevent quasi-democratic power grabs like this.
  10. sally stink from edmonton, Canada writes: ---to all you non-maritimers commenting. harper's humour is
    our maritime-type of humour. a little self-defacing and often mis-
    understood in 'central canada'....but gives us a great laugh, and
    more chuckles as we think about it.
  11. JD Would from Caglary, Canada writes: Dion is funny too, His little doggie is named Kyoto,
  12. JD Would from Caglary, Canada writes: active reader from toronto,
    I'm kill the GST, rip up NAFTA and appoint Gagliano ambassador to Denmark
  13. Catherine Wilkie from Canada writes: Bean. What vegetable would Harper be, if he was a vegetable?

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